2007-08 Golden Gopher Women's Basketball Season in Review

Golden Gopher Women's Basketball 2007-08 Season in Review

Gophers Return to NCAA Tournament, Gather 20-Win Season - Minnesota concluded a successful 2007-08 season with a 20-12 record and a return to the NCAA Tournament field. The Golden Gophers suffered a first-round defeat to Texas in NCAA play in Bridgeport, Conn. Minnesota made its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and the Golden Gophers’ fifth in six years under head coach Pam Borton
Fox Named Gophers’ MVP - Junior Emily Fox was named the Golden Gopher MVP after leading the Gophers in scoring, assists and steals during the season. She collected her 1,000th-career point during the season and went on to earn All-Big Ten First Team accord.
Three Gophers All-Big Ten - Minnesota landed three players Emily Fox, Leslie Knight and Ashley Ellis-Milan on the Big Ten Conference honor squads. The accomplishment marks the fourth time in Minnesota women’s basketball history, and first since 2005, that Minnesota celebrated three all-conference honorees.

2007-08 Minnesota Women’s Basketball Honors

Team MVP
Emily Fox

All-Big Ten First Team
Emily Fox (coaches/media)

All-Big Ten Second Team
Leslie Knight (coaches/media)

All-Big Ten Honorable Mention
Ashley Ellis-Milan (media)

ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District
Emily Fox (first team)
Leslie Knight (first team)
Brittany McCoy (second team)
Katie Ohm (second team)

Academic All-Big Ten
Jordan Barnes
Emily Fox
Leslie Knight
Brittany McCoy
Katie Ohm
Tanisha Smith

Big Ten Player of the Week
Leslie Knight (Dec. 31)
Emily Fox (Jan. 28)

Tournament MVP
Emily Fox (Subway Classic)

All-Tournament Team
Emily Fox (Subway Classic, Hawaii Rainbow Wahine)
Ashley Ellis-Milan (Subway Classic, Hawaii Rainbow Wahine)

Team Captains
Leslie Knight
Emily Fox
Jordan Barnes

Minnesota Returns to NCAA Tourney in 2008
Minnesota completed the 2007-08 season with a 20-12 record and advanced to the Golden Gophers’ sixth NCAA Tournament in seven seasons. The Gophers, the No. 9 seed, was defeated by No. 8 Texas, 72-55, in first-round action of the New Orleans Region played in Bridgeport, Conn.

Third Place in Big Ten Among Gophers’ Top Finishes
Minnesota finished third in the Big Ten campaign with a 11-7 record in the first season of an 18-game Conference schedule. The Golden Gophers’ third-place finish in the Big Ten this season ties the second-best placing for Minnesota under head coach Pam Borton. Minnesota tied for second in 2003, Borton’s first season, and tied for third in 2005.

Gophers Made Seventh NCAA Appearance
Minnesota made its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and the Golden Gophers’ fifth in six years under head coach Pam Borton. Minnesota had a streak of five consecutive Tournament appearances (2002-06) snapped last season. The Gophers’ first NCAA Tournament appearance was in 1994. Overall, Minnesota is 10-7 in NCAA Tournament play.

2008 Team Awards
Junior Emily Fox was honored with the Golden Gophers’ Most Valuable Player Award as the Minnesota women’s basketball program announced its postseason awards at the annual team banquet, held at the McNamara Alumni Center on April 13.

Fox claimed the team’s top honor after recording one of the finest all-around seasons in Gopher history. The 5-9 guard earned All-Big Ten First Team accord averaging 17.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in 2007-08 and leading the Gophers to a 20-win season, a third-place Big Ten finish and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Logging a team-high 36.4 minutes per game, Fox posted statistic totals ranking among the top 10 in Minnesota history in points (549 eighth), assists (133 seventh) and steals (81 eighth).

Fox is the ninth junior to capture team MVP honors in Gopher history and the first since Lindsay Whalen collected her third career MVP as a junior in 2003.

Senior Leslie Knight was honored with the Coaches’ Award, an award selected by the coaching staff in recognition of a player’s impact on her team, her leadership qualities and work ethic. Knight culminated her Gopher career by earning All-Big Ten Second Team acclaim. The 6-1 forward finished fifth in the Big Ten in scoring during the Conference season averaging 16.4 points a game, 2.5 points better than her overall scoring average on the season (13.9). Knight enjoyed a Gopher career highlighted by the prolific improvement in her final two seasons. In her first two seasons at Minnesota, Knight played just 52 minutes in 19 games scoring 15 points. In her last two seasons, she started 65 consecutive games and scored 697 points.

Knight, a two-time Academic All-District honoree, was also honored with the Gophers’ Scholar-Athlete Award. She maintains a 3.829 grade point average in a communications major and has earned two semesters of a perfect 4.0 GPA.

The Gophers’ Most Improved Player Award recipient was sophomore Katie Ohm. Ohm earned a starting position in the last 13 games of the season and averaged 7.6 points per game in 2007-08. She quickly became known for her adept long-range shooting, finishing the season as the Big Ten’s leading three-point shooter connecting on 46.2 percent of her attempts. In addition to nearly tripling her three-point field goal total from 21 as a freshman to 61 as a sophomore, Ohm also made vast improvements in her defensive game.

Junior transfer Kay Sylva made enough of an impact on the Gophers in her first season in the program to earn the squad’s Defensive Player of the Year Award. Sylva, a 5-6 guard, earned playing minutes off the bench with her hard-nosed, defensive pressure and her endless hustle on the court.

Each year, the Gophers honor a recipient in or connected with the program with the Sixth Player Award. Connie Bakken, a significant contributor to the Gopher program and its recent locker room renovation, was selected for the 2008 award.

The Golden Gopher booster club, the Fast Break Club, gives out two awards at the annual banquet each season. The Fast Break Club Award recipient was Leslie Knight, while Katie Ohm received the For the Love of the Game Award.

The evening concluded with Pam Borton being recognized with a game ball commemorating her 200th career coaching victory and the annual tradition of debuting the season highlight video.

Gophers Land Three on All-Big Ten Honor Squads
Minnesota landed three players Emily Fox, Leslie Knight and Ashley Ellis-Milan on the Big Ten Conference honor squads announced by the Big Ten Conference Office. The accomplishment marks the fourth time in Minnesota women’s basketball history, and first since 2005, that Minnesota celebrated three all-conference honorees.

“It’s nice to see our players receive well-deserved recognition on the All-Big Ten teams,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. “We always knew that Emmy (Fox) was simply one of the best players in the Conference. Leslie (Knight) has been spectacular in her senior season. And Ashley (Ellis-Milan) is developing into one of the toughest post defenders and rebounders in the Big Ten. These honors are a reward for their hard work and dedication throughout the year, not just during the season. I’m extremely proud of them.”

Fox, a 5-9 guard from Highlands Ranch, Colo., was an All-Big Ten First Team selection by both the Conference coaches and media. The Gopher standout finished her junior campaign ranked among the Big Ten’s leaders in several statistical categories. Fox was fourth in the league in scoring at 17.2 points per game, second in steals grabbing 2.89 thefts per contest and third in assists dishing out 4.50 assists per league outing. Fox is first Golden Gopher to earn first-team accord since Janel McCarville in 2005.

Knight, a 6-1 forward from Minnetonka, Minn., was rewarded for an outstanding senior season by being named to the All-Big Ten Second Team by the coaches and media. The award is Knight’s first postseason accolade of her collegiate career. Knight scored in double figures in 17 of 18 Big Ten games this season to finish with a scoring average of 16.4 points per Conference game, good for fifth among the league’s leading scorers. Her 56.6 percent field goal percentage ranked second in the Big Ten. Knight was also named Minnesota’s recipient of the Big Ten’s Sportsmanship Award.

Ellis-Milan, a 6-2 sophomore center from St. Paul, was named to the media’s All-Big Ten Honorable Mention squad. Ellis-Milan averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per Conference game.

Joining Fox on the All-Big Ten First Team (both coaches and media) was Jenna Smith (Illinois), Jantel Lavender (Ohio State) and Jolene Anderson (Wisconsin). Iowa’s Kristi Smith was a coaches’ first-team selection, while Michigan State’s Allyssa DeHaan was tabbed a first teamer by the media. Lavender was named the Big Ten Player of the Year by the coaches, marking the first freshman to earn the award. Anderson was the media’s pick for the Big Ten Player of the Year. Lisa Bluder of Iowa was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year by both the coaches and media, while they agreed on Lavender as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The coaches named Ohio State’s Chavelle Little as the Defensive Player of the Year and Iowa’s Megan Skouby as the Sixth Player of the Year

Emmy Joins 1,000 Career Points Club
Junior Emily Fox scored 17 points against Michigan in the regular-season finale to eclipse the 1,000 career points milestone in her 90th career game and become the 18th player in Minnesota history to score 1,000 career points. After her junior season, Fox is 13th on the Minnesota all-time scores’ list with 1,039 points. Passing the milestone in her junior season is even more impressive considering she scored just 65 points as a freshman. The only other player to score less than 100 points as a freshman yet still finish as a 1,000-point scorer was Angie Iverson (1994-98), who began with 70 points as a rookie and totaled 1,162 (11th) points overall.

Borton Hits 200-Win Milestone
Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton captured the 200th victory of her coaching career in Minnesota’s victory over Indiana on Feb. 28. Borton recorded her 100th win on Dec. 10, 2005, in an 83-57 victory over Washington State.

The Magical 20th Win Delivered
The Gophers captured that magical 20th victory of the season in a 63-48 win at Michigan in last game of the regular season. The last time Minnesota won 20 or more games in a season was in the 2004-05 season. Minnesota won 19 games in 2005-06 and 17 games a year ago. Pam Borton is also the first coach in Minnesota women’s basketball history to post four career 20-win seasons.

The McCoy “X” Factor Theory Accurate in 2007-08
Sophomore Brittany McCoy was an important element to the Gophers’ success that was often overlooked considering the impressive seasons her teammates Emily Fox and Leslie Knight enjoyed. Seventeen (17) of the Gophers’ victories, including nine Big Ten wins, had the common thread of McCoy making an impact offensively either with her scoring or passing. When McCoy either scores in double figures (which happened five times) or dished out five or more assists (which she did 14 times), the Gophers were 17-2. Ironically the first loss was the double-overtime contest at Indiana where McCoy finished with 14 points and six assists, but had nine points and four assists at the end of regulation. The other was the three-point overtime loss at Iowa.

The Big Ten’s Best From Long Range
Sophomore Katie Ohm was the Big Ten’s leading long-range shooter converting on 46.2 percent (42-91) of her field goal attempts from three-point range. Overall on the season Ohm is converting on 40.7 percent of her shots from behind the arc.

Gopher Guard Tandem Posts Century Repeat
A year ago, Emily Fox and Brittany McCoy became just the second duo in school history to each record over 100 assists in a season (the other was Janel McCarville and April Calhoun in 2004-05). Fox and McCoy now own a repeat performance of this feat as McCoy (131) and Fox (133) own triple digit assist totals. McCoy is the first player in Gopher history to collect 100 or more assists in the first two years of a career.

Fox and McCoy Continue to Move Up Single-Season Assist List
The Golden Gophers’ starting backcourt of Emily Fox and Brittany McCoy added their names to the Minnesota single-season assist totals list. Fox’s season with 133 is the seventh best, while Brittany McCoy’s 131 assists ties for the eighth-highest single season tally. The most assists in a single season in Gopher history was 241 by Debbie Hunter in 1990-91.

Fox Enjoys One of the Finest Seasons in Gopher History
Emily Fox enjoyed one of the best all-around seasons in Golden Gopher history. Her 549 points scored and 81 steals are eighth on the single-season scoring list. Her 133 assists is the seventh-best single-season total. She also continues to climb the Minnesota career charts for assists and steals. Fox is ranked seventh with 291 career assists and sixth with 169 career steals.

Ellis-Milan, Campbell in Top 10 of Career O-Boards
Gopher sophomore Ashley Ellis-Milan is ranked eighth among the top 10 offensive rebounders in Minnesota history. Ellis-Milan has 186 offensive boards. Kadidja Andersson (7th - 206, 2000-04) is next on the list. Korinne Campbell, with 177 offensive rebounds, ranks ninth on the list. Rebounds were categorized as offensive or defensive in the 1987-88 season so several of the top rebounders in Minnesota history are not included on this list. Janel McCarville (2001-05) grabbed the most offensive rebounds in school history - 364.

Balanced Gopher Offense Winning at 80 Percent Clip
Minnesota landed four or more players in double figures scoring in the same game 10 times during the season, eight of them resulting in victories. The Gophers’ loss at Iowa, where Leslie Knight scored 20 and was joined by Emily Fox (16), Katie Ohm (12) and Ashley Ellis-Milan (11) in double figures, was just the second time in 2007-08 that four Gophers scored in double digits but lost.

Gophers Fall to Texas in NCAA First Round
Minnesota saw its season end with a 72-55 loss to Texas in the First Round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships at the Arena at the Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn. on Sunday, March 23. The Golden Gophers were led by Emily Fox with 23 points and finish the season with a 20-12 record.

Fox grabbed a steal in Texas’ first possession and swished a pull-up jumper from 15 feet to give Minnesota its only lead of the game at 2-0. The Longhorns (22-12) made eight of their next 11 shots to build a 17-5 lead four minutes later.

The Gophers, making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance, chipped away at the Texas lead scoring points at the free throw line. Minnesota scored seven straight points, sandwiching a Leslie Knight basket between free throws by Fox and Ashley Ellis-Milan to bring the deficit to three points at 21-18 with 5:03 left in the first half.

Unfortunately, Minnesota misfired on offense the rest of the half. A Brittaney Raven three pointer ignited an 11-0 Texas run to close the half. The Gophers missed five shots and committed three turnovers to limp into halftime on the short end of a 32-18 score. The stat sheet read a miserable 17.5 field goal percentage for Minnesota making just 5-of-28 from the floor.

Minnesota found a little offense in the second half, shooting 42.4 percent, but the Gopher was unable to hold down the Longhorns. Texas maintained a double-digit lead throughout the half by shooting 53.8 percent in the period. Despite 17 second-half points by Fox, the Gophers only managed to close with 12 points early in the half.

Texas rebuilt a larger cushion, taking advantage several times on a Gopher defense taking chances to get steals. Two free throws by Longhorn guard Erneisha Bailey with 4:53 remaining gave Texas its largest lead of the game at 67-41. The Gophers refused to give up outscoring the Longhorns 14-4 late in the game.

Knight scored 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds in her final game as a Golden Gopher. Korinne Campbell topped the Gophers with nine rebounds.

Big Ten Tournament A Forgettable Experience
It’s difficult enough to win any game in the Big Ten Tournament but when a team misses 21 of its first 22 shots to start the game and its last eight to end the game, you’re asking for trouble. No. 4 seed Minnesota was upset by No. 5 seed Michigan State, 56-51, in the quarterfinal of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis on March 7

The only Golden Gophers to finish in double figures was Zoe Harper, who came off the bench to score 11 points. The starters combined for an anemic 8-39 shooting performance, just 20.1 percent. Minnesota falls to 20-11 on the season.

Minnesota attacked 6-9 Spartan center Allyssa DeHaan early in the game and accomplished the goal of getting the All-Big Ten player in foul trouble. She picked up two quick fouls and with 17:11 on the clock took a seat on the bench, missing the remainder of the first half.

The Gophers held a 5-2 lead at the time, but instead of backing down with their leader on the bench, Michigan State (19-12) increased its defensive pressure. Minnesota couldn’t buy a basket, going from the 17:52 mark to the 5:11 mark, a span of 20 missed field goal attempts, between baskets. Amazingly, the Spartan offense was equally as ineffective and the teams sputtered to a 23-23 tie at intermission.

Neither team was able to gain an advantage early in the second half as five more ties followed. The Spartans edged out to a 32-31 advantage on a three-point play by freshman Kalisha Keane with 13:03 to play.

The Michigan State lead was short lived as Harper answered with a lay-up to give Gophers a one-point lead. Minnesota pushed its lead to six points as baskets by Emily Fox and Brittany McCoy upped the lead to 37-32. The Gopher held their biggest lead of the game six points four times over the next seven minutes, the last on two Korinne Campbell free throws with 3:55 remaining.

DeHaan scored the next four points to bring the Spartans back to within two points. Freshman Brittney Thomas completed the comeback with two free throws at the 2:22 mark to tie the score at 47-47.

Harper gave the Gophers their last lead with two free throws in the next possession, but Mia Johnson drive to the basket, scored a lay-up, drew a foul from Katie Ohm and converted the three-point play to give the Spartans a 50-49 lead with 1:53 left to play.

Minnesota turned the ball over and Spartan senior Alisa Wulff made them pay with a dagger three-pointer from the left wing to put Michigan State up by four points.

Fox closed the gap with two free throws with 53 ticks left. The Gophers played solid defense and Courtney Davidson’s long three-pointer bounced long. Minnesota was unable to grab the rebound. Davidson grabbed her own miss and the Gophers were forced to foul. Davidson made one of two from the line and the Spartans were up by three points (54-51) with 25 seconds on the clock.

Fox missed a jumper with 14 seconds and Michigan State collected the rebound to seal the win. The Gophers finished the game like they started it, missing their last eight shots from the field. Two Johnson free throws provided the final margin of victory.

Minnesota finished the game shooting 25.9 percent from the floor. Fox was held to seven points, 10 below her average, and went just 2-of-14 from the field. Leslie Knight and Ashley Ellis-Milan, the other two Gophers averaging in double figures, were held to seven and four points, respectively

Gophers Make History in Trip 13 to Penn State
It took 13 trips to Happy Valley, but the Gophers finally managed to capture their first victory on Penn State’s home court. Behind 21 points from Emily Fox, Minnesota defeated the Lady Lions by a 56-48 score on Feb. 14. The win also gave the Gophers their first season sweep of Penn State.

Four Gophers Earn District Academic Honors
Minnesota is finding success this season, on and off the court. Four of the Golden Gophers’ five starters Leslie Knight, Emily Fox, Katie Ohm and Brittany McCoy were named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams as voted upon by the nation’s sports information directors.

Knight, a senior communications major from Minnetonka, Minn., and Fox, a junior journalism major from Highlands Ranch, Colo., earned Academic All-District First Team accord and will now move on to the national ballot for Academic All-America honors. Knight and Fox are both team captains this season.

Ohm and McCoy, both sophomores, were named to the Academic All-District Third Team. Ohm is a kinesiology major hailing from Rochester, Minn. McCoy, a native of Lincolnwood, Ill., is majoring in speech therapy and audiology.

Eleven Gophers Recognized as Scholar-Athletes
Eleven Golden Gophers - Emily Fox, Brittany McCoy, Kay Sylva, Zoe Harper, Kristen Dockery, Diane Brown, Jordan Barnes, Tanisha Smith, Katie Ohm and Leslie Knight - were honored last Monday night at the Minnesota Scholar-Athlete Banquet. Student-athletes that accomplished 3.0 grade point averages were recognized.

More Than Just Good Basketball Players
The Golden Gophers’ starting lineup of Emily Fox, Brittany McCoy, Katie Ohm, Ashley Ellis-Milan and Leslie Knight combine for an impressive 3.389 grade point average. Fox, McCoy, Ohm and Knight are nominees for academic all-district honors. Knight, who earned second-team academic all-district honors last year, tops the team with a 3.829 GPA in a communications major.

Upcoming Events